"Heh-CHOO! Heh-SHHH!" sneezed Sirius Black as he dragged his wet and sore body into his house.

Auror training might have been hard, but being an Auror during the war was worse. He had just finished a 48 hour shift and within that 48 hour shift, he had been outside, in the rain and cold, for all but 2 hours of it. Worst of all, was that he had been sick to begin with.

Now he just felt like crap.

Sirius grabbed a tissue from a table in the hall and thoroughly blew his nose to clear it. He then balled up the tissue and tossed it into the rubbish bin next to the door.

"Heh-SHHHH! Hah-CHOOO! Hah-RASSHOOO!" sneezed Sirius. He groaned miserably and sniffed heavily. He grabbed another tissue to empty his nose into.

As Sirius was finishing up, Remus walked into the room and brightened considerably.

"Sirius! You're back! I was so worried," Remus cried in relief.

He nearly hugged the ailing man, but was stopped by Sirius' desperate sneezes.

"Sirius, you're soaking and freezing! And you're sick! Come on, let's get you nice and warm and in bed.

Sirius sighed in relief and let Remus guide him up the stairs and to his room. He let his muscles relax and his body sag as his lover gently took off his clothes and settled him in the warm bath water.

The steam was comforting and eased the congestion in his nose. Instead of feeling stuffy, his head felt a little clearer, and he felt sleepy, rather than cold.

"Hah-SHHH! Hah-CHUUUM! Hah-RASHOO!" sneezed Sirius weakly. Remus grabbed a tissue from the box and rubbed his lover's nose dry. He then threw away the soiled tissue and began to lightly massage Sirius' sore muscles.

When the bath water began to cool, Remus helped Sirius out of the bathtub, dry himself, and put on his pajamas. The pair then made their way to the big king-sized bed with heavy quilts.

Sirius slipped in between the sheets and let Remus prop him up in a sitting position with three pillows.

Sirius felt a tickling sensation in his nose and immediately grabbed a few tissues from the tissue box before letting out a volley of sneezes.

"Hah-SHOO! Hah-RASHOO! Hah-SHOO! HAH-CHOO! Heh-CHOO! ACHOO!"

Sirius balled up the nearly destroyed tissues and threw them away. He then grabbed fresh tissues and blew his nose.

Remus watched in sympathy as the poor man made his way through the tissue box.

During the time that Sirius had been sneezing, Remus and conjured many more tissue boxes and retrieved a glass of water from the bathroom. He had also found the thermometer in the medicine cabinet. The actual medicine couldn't be used on Sirius.

Because Sirius was an Auror, he had to take numerous amounts of potions to prevent from getting killed on a regular basis. They also prevented him from spilling Order secrets and such. The ingredients in Pepper-Up and other Medical Potions reacted badly with those from the Protection Potions.

Muggle medicine was difficult to obtain because they lived in a very big wizarding area, but luckily Remus had gotten a box of cold medicine and Tylenol from a drug store when he was in London.

Remus put the thermometer in Sirius' mouth for a few minutes before taking it out. Sirius sneezed wetly into a tissue and wiped his nose. By now, the bed was littered with tissues and Sirius' nose was very sore and red.

Remus commented to Sirius, "Well, you have a high fever. How do you feel?"

"Like crap," Sirius croaked.

"That's to be expected. How about you take some medicine and rest a bit. I'll call James and tell him to tell Moody that you won't be able to work for a few days. All right love?" suggested Remus concernedly.

"Sure," said Sirius tiredly before he yawned and sniffled.

Remus gave Sirius a Tylenol pill and some of the cold medicine for his sneezing and congestion. He helped the man lay down with pillows keeping his head raised and covered him with blankets. He put a tissue box near him on the bed so it would be in easy reach.

"Sleep well Sirius," Remus said as he gave Sirius a peck on the cheek. The man had already fallen asleep.

Remus smiled at Sirius' angel-like look before going downstairs to the sitting room fire.

"12 Godric's Hollow," Remus called as he threw the Floo Powder into the fire. He stuck his head into the flames and waited for the world in front of his eyes to stop spinning.

Finally, the correct grate was found and Remus could see Lily and Harry playing on the couch. Harry was just a few months old, and already he was a happy, attentive, gurgling ball of James' black hair and Lily's green eyes.

"Lily! Can I please speak to James?" asked Remus from the fireplace.

"Of course Remus. Did Sirius come back alright?" asked Lily as she got up from her seat on the sofa.

"Yes, he's fine, except that he's a bit ill. It's just a cold," assured Remus.

Lily frowned worriedly, but mentioned, "I'll get James. Just watch Harry for a bit, and holler if anything's

wrong.""Sure, Lily," Remus said as Lily left the room.

Within moments Remus heard, smelled, and saw James walk into the room and pick up his baby boy.

Remus smiled at the gurgle of joy that came from Harry at the sight of his father.

James turned to Remus and began, "What is it Remus? Lily said that Sirius is ill. Is he alright? Do you need anything?"

"He's fine James. It's just a bad cold. Besides, he's sleeping anyways," started Remus with mock exasperation, "I just wanted to ask you if you could tell Mad-Eye that Sirius will not be leaving his bed for a few days. The last thing he needs is to do another 48 hour shift in the rain."

"Don't worry Remus, I'll tell him. Thanks for letting me know," said James with relief, "Let me know if the old dog becomes too much for you to handle. Merlin knows that he wouldn't stay in bed if he wasn't feeling like crap or you weren't with him."

James waggled his eyebrows suggestively at the last part.

Remus had the decency to blush profusely and stutter at James.

"J-James, t-that's n-not t-true," he said. At James' disbelieving look he admitted, "Okay, so it is. Anyways, I best be going. Bye!"

James chuckled in mirth as Remus gave in and Harry made a noise in merriment. He probably was only happy because the people around him were happy.

Remus just pulled his head out of the fire and his eyes found the sight of Sirius' house before him. He went upstairs once again to check on Sirius and smiled at the picture before him.

Sirius had snuggled into a ball within the quilts. His nose and mouth were the only parts of his body that showed. The tissue box was wrapped in his arms under the covers and he was smiling innocently. The look on his face was the one he used against McGonagall when she would catch him playing a prank.

Remus chuckled at the adorable sight. He yawned in exhaustion and kicked off his shoes. He curled up next to Sirius under the covers and spooned the latter's body within his own.

Sirius sneezed a wet "Hah-shoo!" in his sleep and Remus took a tissue and wiped his nose for him. Sirius smiled in his sleep and snuggled deeper into Remus.

Remus smiled sleepily and threw the tissue into the rubbish bin. He then hugged Sirius tighter and fell asleep next to him, buried under the blankets with his love.